Offered by the Rev. Chet Jechura on May 30 Bishop, I rise in the company of the Baltimore-Washington Conference Queer Clergy Caucus – beloved friends and faithful colleagues in ministry with whom I’m blessed to serve. Some of us, including myself, once banned from ordained ministry...
By Erik Alsgaard “May our love for You shine so brightly that we would need sunglasses.” Recited as part of the opening prayer for the Service of Ordination and Commissioning at the 240th Annual Conference Session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, the nearly two-hour...
By Erik Alsgaard The old song goes, “Take me out to the ball game.” However, about 1,000 United Methodists changed the words to “Take us out to the ball game” Wednesday night as the 2024 Annual Conference Session moved to Oriole Park at Camden Yards for a game between the...
Have you ever been to a memorial service where the attendees danced? That was the energy in the ballroom at the BWC Annual Conference Session Service of Remembrance May 30. The service is held every year to remember the clergy, laity, clergy spouses, and diaconal ministers who have died in the...
Kindled by sparks of grace, The United Methodist Church was started by a man whose heart was strangely warmed and that has now grown into a denomination aflame with social holiness. At opening worship on May 29, the 1,100 members of the Baltimore-Washington Conference claimed the “fire shut-up...
By Charlie Moore Prior to General Conference, I was asked to go to Charlotte to observe all of the deliberations around the proposed 2025-2028 General Conference budget and provide some informal interpretation on the impact on our United Methodist “Connection” over the next...
By Eleanor Meeks You Can’t Feed Someone’s Soul If Their Body is Hungry: A profile on Rev. Dr. Irance Reddix-McCray and Her Journey of Faith On a Tuesday afternoon at approximately 1 p.m., the Adullum Community Healthcare Center sits in calm stillness. Located in the Waverly UMC...
By Bill Brown Evangelism is a word that often elicits mixed emotions, especially for those of us who are United Methodists. For many, it conjures memories of encounters with judgmental zealots, overly aggressive preachers, and individuals who seem more focused on converting others than on...
In the wake of disaffiliation and the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Methodist Church saw 862 delegates descend on Charlotte, North Carolina for the postponed 2020 General Conference. The Baltimore-Washington Conference sent 12 individuals — six clergy and six lay members — to...
By Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. -- Luke 1:78-79 (Song of Zechariah) For many months leading up to this...
